Africa Digital World: Recent Episodes
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The digital era has transformed human society irreversibly. Besides the hype of consumer products and services, much needs to be said about the impact of the digital era on commerce and industry. Big and small businesses alike, need to redefine their businesses to take advantage of digital opportunities and similarly, stave off the threats. The Africa Digital World podcast aims to create a platform for discourse on how businesses in Africa can navigate the digital revolution.
On the heels of the previous episode's discussion with a member of the presidential commission on the 4IR, we were joined by Jacques de Vos, CEO of Mezzanine. Mezzanine is blazing the trail in Africa, creating and implementing digital solutions to solve challenges in agriculture, healthcare and education. Jacques shares invaluable insights into Mezzanine's digital solutions and their impact on the lives of people across the continent. This is a great discussion if you are interested in building digital solutions to fix REAL challenges across the continent.
Every aspect of business, and life in general, is being transformed by this phenomenon called 4IR. On this episode, we chat to Rendani Mamphiswana , a commissioner on the Presidential Commission on the Fourth Industrial Revolution. He shares insights into the research the commission has done to derive recommendations for South Africa's public and private sectors' strategies for harnessing 4IR technologies. How is your sector being affected by 4IR? What skills will you need in the short-term and in the long-term to stay relevant? This conversation will be worth your while.
Technology is advancing at an unprecedented pace and the development of any new technology product has a legal bearing. On this episode, we had Tendai Jangara, a legal expert, talking to us about Protection of Personal Information laws, cloud computing regulations and other legal insights that every techpreneur needs to know. If you are building any tech that requires,for example, the collection of user information, this discussion is crucial to your business. Non-compliance with the law can ruin any brilliant technology product!
On this episode, we talk about e-commerce businesses in Africa with one of the founders of Jumia - Marek Zmysłowski. How did Jumia overcome infrastructural and political challenges to build the first African tech company to list on the New york stock Exchange? Tune in and hear from a global expert on ecommerce businesses. If you have recently started an online business, planning to start one, or looking to grow one to the next level, there is so much to learn from this episode.
On this episode, we took time to unpack the previous episode's discussion with Josh Romisher of the University of Stellenbosch LaunchLab. We shed light on some common challenges plaguing entrepreneurship in Africa that incubation hubs could alleviate.The role of incubation hubs is paramount, but, are there enough of them? Are they doing enough? Are incubation hubs providing the right type of support needed by, for example, township entrepreneurs?
On this episode, we continue building on our exploration of entrepreneurship ecosystems in Africa. After learning about the University of Stellenbosch LaunchLab incubation programme on a webinar featuring Josh Romisher and Steve Blank (famous for the Lean Startup movement) , we just had to get Josh onto the podcast. The University of Stellenbosch LaunchLab is the quintessential incubator/accelerator model, exactly what is needed to advance entrepreneurship in Africa. Their mantra is "We transform seemingly impossible ideas into world-changing businesses". Find out how they live up to this mantra, on this episode.
On this episode, we discussed financial inclusion. An important topic to cover on ADW because financial exclusion/inclusion is closely aligned with the digital divide. Lloyd Mwashita shared his knowledge of the digital financial services industry and brought light on the impact of financial exclusion on economic development, and how technology can provide affordable solutions. How is the digital financial services ecosystem faring and what opportunities exist for technology entrepreneurs in this space?
We continue exploring the "Wheel of Entrepreneurship Ecosystems". We had a first look at the role of Corporations in Entrepreneurship Ecosystems on episode 6 through the discussion with Ericsson. On episode 7, we zero-in on the phenomenon of the digital divide, as gleaned from the Ericsson discussion. What is the digital divide? Why is it relevant? The role of leadership in addressing the digital divide is core to Africa's realisation of the boon of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Episode 7 will certainly leave you with something to think about.
Digitalisation requires broadband. Affordable, equitable and ubiquitous broadband. On this episode, we host Todd Ashton, Vice President of South and East Africa at Ericsson and Managing Director of Ericsson Kenya. We unpack the role that Ericsson is playing to provide broadband services as a lever for economic development in Africa. Ericsson is a firm believer in the importance of ecosystems and have demonstrated their commitment and dedication to Africa's digitalisation through various partnerships and initiatives. If you want to understand the role that the telco industry plays in driving education, entrepreneurship, digital skills development, and supporting the entire digital economy, this episode covers it all.
The United States has arguably the most advanced digital technologies foundry in the form of Silicon Valley. In the valley's history, it has created 70,000 companies, over 300,000 jobs and over 5 trillion dollars in revenue. No surprise that the US is the biggest economy in the world. On episode 5, Vusa and Lloyd reflect on the entrepreneurship ecosystems discussion with McKevin Ayaba from Episode 4 by looking at what each of the different entrepreneurship ecosystem player categories could do differently in Africa. How can corporates , incubation hubs, the media, government etc, better collaborate to support entrepreneurship in Africa?
On this episode, we had McKevin Ayaba as our guest. An Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Builder of note, McKevin shared his insights on our preceding episode entitled "Digital scramble for Africa". To enable and support the digital revolution in Africa , and to use it as a springboard for economic development, McKevin highlights the need for establishing and strengthening entrepreneurship ecosystems across the continent. If you want to know what makes Silicon Valley tick and how to build similar ecosystems in Africa, you need to listen to this episode.
Episode 3 was inspired by the article recently published by Vusa Nyathi entitled "Industrialisation or Imperialism? Three 4IR policy considerations for Africa". In the article, Vusa shared some insights about the need for a digital mindset at a macro level, i.e., a common continental consciousness about why Africa needs the digital era. Episode 3 was thus about unpacking this, by discussing how and why Africa is using "Digital Industry Factories" from the western world and not building , or maybe not supporting, it's own. Isn't the dominance and use of Google, Facebook, Instagram, Microsoft, Tik Tok and Amazon on the African continent akin to another scramble for Africa? A Digital one, this time? Take a listen and share with us your take of this topic. Tweet us - @AfriDigiWorld , @vusanyathi @LloydMwashita
On this episode, we had John Lombela - an International Speaker, Entrepreneur,Investor and Business Consultant. John talked to us about Blockchain and digital currencies, and answered the profound question - "What is money and what is a currency?". This was not a technology debate, but rather a practical discussion on the business applications of Blockchain and digital currencies. If you have been trying to figure out what Blockchain is and how it relates to Bitcoin, and everything around these 2 phenomena, this is a "must-see"! John generously shared practical applications of Blockchain technology in various industries; tips that you can explore further and consider for your business or personal development. Maybe more importantly, John shared HOW and WHY "Blockchain is the cure for Africa".
This is our debut episode. We reflected on some of the major highlights of the digital revolution, albeit humorously, through the lens of Nas' 1999 song - New world. We spoke about the purpose of the podcast - to provide a platform for discussing the impact and influence of technology on economic development and entrepreneurship, in Africa. Discussions on "Digital" in Africa are existential; We posed questions like "If Google stopped allowing Africa to use it's services, what recourse would Africa have?". We also made the argument that "digital is not about gadgets, it's about the mindset", and gave a brief overview of Digital Thinking, covering the following aspects; Customer Centricity, Cross-skilling, Experimentation, Agile, and Design thinking.
For ANY business to be sustainable in the digital era, it has to practice and apply Digital Thinking.